Efficiency of PAPNET in detecting infectious organisms in cervicovaginal smears.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of the PAPNET system in identifying microbial organisms.

STUDY

DESIGN

Two hundred forty-nine previously screened cervicovaginal smears with a diagnosis of an infectious agent were rescreened by PAPNET system. The images were reviewed on a high-resolution monitor and the presence or absence of coccobacilli, trichomonads, and Candida and herpes organisms was noted.

RESULTS

Of 99 cervicovaginal smears with excessive coccobacilli, 16 were missed by PAPNET (percentage of accuracy, 84). Only 60% of Candida organisms (33 of 55) and 77% of trichomonads (42 of 54) were identified by PAPNET. Herpesvirus was diagnosed correctly on PAPNET in 24 of 41 cases. Two or more infectious agents were present in 14 cases, 5 of which were correctly identified by PAPNET. The accuracy of PAPNET in identifying infectious organism when measured against manual screening was 70%, with a high false negative rate (30%).

CONCLUSION

The PAPNET system identifies coccobacilli, trichomonads and Candida organisms in decreasing order of frequency, missing a high percentage of Candida organisms and trichomonads (40% and 33%, respectively), the most common causative agents in female genital tract infections.